A two-time winner already this year, the 33-year-old American is hoping it will prove to be a case of third time lucky for him at The Open this week.
On his two previous appearances in the championship – Royal St George’s in 2021 and St Andrews in 2022 – Catlin failed to progress to the final two rounds.
Now a little older and wiser, the expectations of the man who is 158th in the Official World Golf Ranking have been elevated.
Based on his outstanding form in 2024, Catlin has every reason to feel confident about his prospects among the world’s finest players.
“I feel I belong in this company. I want to put myself in a position where I can be challenging on Sunday,” said Catlin, who last played here as a 12-year-old when on a family golfing holiday to Scotland.
By his own admission, his only memory of the course from that trip 21 years ago was the famous par-three eighth hole, named ‘Postage Stamp’.
After securing his starting spot here this week by virtue of finishing in a share of third place in the season-opening IRS Prima Malaysian Open, Catlin posted back-to-back triumphs in the International Series Macau presented by Wynn followed by the Saudi Open presented by PIF.
John Catlin after winning the International Series Macau presented by Wynn in March. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
His win in Macau was marked by a third-round of 11-under-par 59, the Asian Tour’s first sub-60 return. Nonetheless, he needed extra time to clinch the win, pipping Spaniard David Puig in a sudden-death play-off.
Intriguingly, the duo will lock horns again in the first two rounds at Royal Troon where they’ve been drawn together, along with a third Asian Tour member, Guntaek Koh of Korea.
Like Catlin, Puig himself has enjoyed a memorable year to date, winning the Malaysian Open to go with three other top-10 finishes that have lifted him into second spot in the Merit standings.
Other Asian Tour members with designs on challenging for glory this week include reigning Order of Merit champion Andy Ogletree of America, Michael Hendry of New Zealand, Chilean Joaquin Niemann and South African Louis Oosthuizen, winner of The Open when it was staged at Andrews in 2015.
Keep an eye out, too, for Swede Charlie Lindh, who earned his Asian Tour card at this year’s Qualifying School. He secured his maiden Major championship appearance through final qualifying at Burnham & Berrow Golf Club last week, after coming through a play-off with Abraham Ancer and Anirban Lahiri for third and fourth place.
Guntaek Koh and Minkyu Kim pictured during a practice round at Royal Troon. Picture by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.
Also flying the flag for the Asian Tour this week are Korean duo Minkyu Kim and Jeunghun Wang as well as Japan’s Ryosuke Kinoshita, along with Affiliate Member Sam Horsfield of England.
Wang, a three-time winner on the DP World Tour, was in the field when The Open was staged at Troon in 2016, missing the cut after signing for two 75s. He also missed the cut the following year at Royal Birkdale.